On specific issues, Pearce said that he has filed legislation to study how teachers are compensated. Specifically, he said, it might be time to ask teachers if they are willing to be paid on a merit basis if they would give up the protections of tenure at the same time. “If we’re going to do this,” he said, “it would have to be voluntary for schools as well as for teachers. If teachers want to go on merit-based, performance-based reimbursement, they would have to give up tenure. We need to take a look at that, perhaps beginning with districts that are provisionally accredited or unaccredited. “Tenure is something that for the most part doesn’t resonate well in the state of Missouri. Education is the only place where people have tenure,” continued Pearce. “People outside the system don’t necessarily support it or appreciate it, and now may be a good time to do some tradeoffs, like tying it to merit pay.” Pearce noted that online learning, one area that the committee mentioned, was successful a couple of years ago, with 1,000 slots for students quickly filled, but the budget couldn’t sustain it. “You can learn online more cheaply than in a bricks-and-mortar school,” he said, “so there are possible cost savings down the road, even though it might take a big investment upfront. Online learning is here to stay. It’s not a fad.” The report said that the committee “operated under the guiding principle that education is the foundation for Missouri’s success in a global society. To that end, the committee was intent on developing a comprehensive, yet focused, strategic plan to identify and prioritize reform initiatives that will shape Missouri’s education system through 2020 and beyond.”

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